According to a spokesman for the police, calm returned afterwards. Around 02:30 the last people had left. It is unknown if there were any injuries. Everyone in the police was unharmed, says the spokesman. No arrests have been made.
Images are circulating on social media of a brawl in the events hall, where Turkish Dutch people could vote for the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey. The images show a fight between several men at the voting location. Agents intervened.
Some of those present then went outside and lingered around the building. “Some of them wanted to go back inside to pick up stuff,” says the spokesperson. But the police did not allow that, to prevent new confrontations. “In the end, we let them in in phases. Then peace returned.”
None of the groups of men loitering in the square wanted to tell what was going on. “We do not provide information. There is nothing going on.” And: “We don’t talk anymore. Just ask the police.”
Just after 21:00 it became restless in and around the Amsterdam Rai. There you could vote for the Turkish elections. Brawls broke out between several groups that were present. pic.twitter.com/z45sEWC2k7
— Amsterdam Police Unit (@POL_Amsterdam) 7 mei 2023
Elections
Since last Sunday, people of Turkish origin have been able to vote in the RAI for the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections. The following Sunday was the last day that voting could take place in the RAI.
Last week it was also hit: on Sunday, April 30, a group of men went to blows. Pictures of the brawl went viral on Twitter. Even then, no one was arrested.
Tensions
The reason for the brawls is still unclear, although there have been tensions between supporters of incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and those of the opposition for some time. This year it consists of six parties that have united, hoping to break Erdogan’s power after years.
The votes abroad are important to Erdogan. During the last elections in 2018, the votes of Turks living abroad were even decisive. Nearly 75 percent of Turks living abroad voted for Erdogan.
Turkish Dutch
In the Netherlands, about 250,000 Turkish-Dutch citizens are entitled to vote. Research by think tank Clingendael shows that 44 percent of the community does not vote. After voting, the ballots go to Ankara. On May 14 – the day that voting takes place in Turkey itself – the votes from the Netherlands will also be counted.
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2023-05-08 05:40:23
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